ATO flags SG rate rise to employers
Employers will need to up their compulsory minimum superannuation payments on behalf of employees to 9.5 per cent from 1 July, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has reminded.
The ATO said the contributions are calculated on the date employers pay their employees, meaning if this was on or after 1 July, employers need to use the new rate.
Some employers may be confused about the increase since the Federal Government had made a pre-election promise that the rate would not rise.
But the government could not pass legislation through the Senate in time to hold the rate at 9.25 per cent.
This resulted in the 9.5 per cent SG rate becoming legally binding, the ATO said.
The SG rate will stay at 9.5 per cent until 30 June 2018, and will rise by 0.5 percentage points each year until it hits 12 per cent.
The ATO encouraged small businesses that have 19 employees or less to use the free small business superannuation clearing house service, where they can pay their SG in one transaction in one location.
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